SEOUL, September 05 (AJP) -A major multi-company Korean investment in the United States got underway Friday as Hyundai Steel and POSCO broke ground on a $5.8 billion electric-arc-furnace steel mill in Louisiana, designed to anchor a made-in-America automotive steel supply chain.
Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel, or HPLS, held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Donaldsonville, Ascension Parish, on Sept. 4, bringing together Hyundai Motor Group, POSCO and government officials from South Korea and the United States.
The project will be owned 50 percent by Hyundai Steel, 20 percent by POSCO, and 15 percent each by Hyundai Motor and Kia, giving Hyundai Motor Group companies a combined 80 percent stake.
The plant will have annual capacity of 2.7 million tons of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated steel products, with commercial production targeted for early 2029. Full-scale construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter, although site preparation has already been underway for months.
HPLS' website shows clearing, drainage, road construction and groundwork progressing from March through August.
Located on roughly 1,822 acres beside the Mississippi River, the facility will have access to deep-water ports, railroads and interstate highways as well as abundant energy supplies. The location is also positioned to serve Hyundai Motor Group's automotive plants across the U.S. South and Mexico.
The venture is part of Hyundai Motor Group's $26 billion U.S. investment plan through 2028 and represents the group's first steel production base in North America.
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun said steel produced at the plant would support not only Hyundai's operations but also other U.S. automakers as they build next-generation vehicles.
“HPLS is a starting point for the steel industry to move toward a more circular and sustainable future,” Chung said at the ceremony, adding that the project would demonstrate that industrial innovation and sustainability can coexist.
The plant is being billed by HPLS as the world's first fully integrated electric-arc-furnace steel mill dedicated to automotive steel production.
Hydrogen could eventually replace natural gas if clean hydrogen becomes commercially competitive, according to South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' separate release, adding the lower-carbon process is intended to help Hyundai, Kia and other automakers meet increasingly stringent carbon-reduction requirements across their supply chains.
HPLS said the project is expected to create more than 1,300 direct jobs. Company CEO Hyung Jin Kim said the positions would carry an average annual salary of about $95,000.
The Louisiana investment also provides Korean steelmakers with a local production base at a time when selling imported steel into the United States has become more difficult.
The United States remains a net importer of steel, but Section 232 tariffs and other trade remedies have raised barriers to exports. U.S. steel demand reached about 90.9 million tons in 2025 against domestic production of 81.9 million tons, according to figures cited by Seoul's Industry Ministry.
“Connecting each other's strengths to improve the competitiveness of both countries is a new model for Korea-U.S. industrial cooperation,” Kim said.
Kim also used the visit to press U.S. officials for support in resolving investment obstacles. In a meeting with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, he asked Washington and state authorities to consider easing tariff burdens on factory equipment and materials that are difficult to procure within the United States.
Landry said the investment would create high-quality jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana businesses.
About 250 government and corporate officials attended the groundbreaking, including Kim, South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha, Landry, U.S. Commerce Department Under Secretary William Kimmitt, POSCO Group Chairman Chang In-hwa, Hyundai Steel President Lee Bo-ryoung, Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Muñoz and Kia CEO Song Ho-sung.
AJP Takeaways:
- Hyundai Steel, POSCO, Hyundai Motor and Kia launch a $5.8 billion electric-arc-furnace steel project in Louisiana.
- Plant targets 2.7 million tons of annual capacity and commercial production in early 2029.
- Facility is designed to cut carbon emissions about 70 percent versus conventional blast-furnace production.
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